Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. Sells 11,993 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. decreased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 11.5%, holding 92,540 shares worth $10.26 million, making it the firm's 20th largest holding.
• Recent analyst ratings show a trend of price target reductions for Brown & Brown, with Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo lowering their targets and ratings, indicating a cautious outlook.
• Brown & Brown announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% with a dividend payout ratio of 17.29%.

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,993 shares during the period. Brown & Brown accounts for about 1.9% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $10,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $907,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 564.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 137,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,044,000 after purchasing an additional 116,959 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,254,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 671.1% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 49,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,015,000 after buying an additional 42,779 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BRO. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,488.43. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.79. 6,468,431 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,179,395. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.52. The firm has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.81. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.99 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.29%.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.